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STAR TREK (part 1) Has Gone Before
October 14th, 2009
It’s about time I talked about the hottest ticket this summer. But first (as the film itself does) let’s take a trip back in time…
The Starship Enterprise had already been trekking for several years before I was born. My science-fiction loving dad would stun me with syndicated episodes during my impressionable youth, forever inflecting me [...]
TAKEN pt. 3: Our Father’s Relentless Pursuit
March 26th, 2009
“Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers failed, what does that tell you about God?”
– Tyler Durden, Fight Club
(For the introduction to our series on Taken, click here)
More than redeeming the role of daddy and emphasizing a child’s folly, Taken truly transcends these archetypes and fills the viewer with a glimpse of [...]
TAKEN pt. 2: Her Father’s Regulation
March 23rd, 2009
“A wise son (or daughter) heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to him.” – Proverbs
(For the introduction to our series on Taken, click here)
Kim knows what she’s doing; she can take care of herself. Dad worries too much. What could go wrong? The horrifying truth is revealed in Taken when her naiveté, her [...]
TAKEN pt. 1: A Father’s Redemption
March 19th, 2009
“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and the parents are the pride of their children.” – Proverbs
(For the introduction to our series on Taken, click here)
Pierre Morel’s Taken focuses on a familiar scenario in our generation: absentee Dad. Statistics suggest 40% of kids in the United States go to bed with no Dad [...]
We’ll Always Have Paris… DESTROYED
March 14th, 2009
review by James Harleman
Have we fallen in love with Paris, or have we decided to destroy it? As my wife and I were planning a romantic Valentine’s getaway in January this year the trailer for Taken, Pierre Morel’s film debuted featuring Liam Neeson running amuck through Paris, made us think twice about going. Later this [...]
On this Dark Knight, the Jokes on Harvey Dent…
February 6th, 2009
There are many reasons why The Dark Knight was the best 2008 had to offer… and why I’m boycotting the Oscars for snubbing it save for a nod to Heath Ledger. There at so many things we could look at in this film, which is probably why it spawned written reviews and now this audio [...]
Iron Clad, Full-bodied Review…
January 7th, 2009
Comic fans are debating which film was the best of 2008… the wonderful whimsy of the invincible Iron Man, or the deep delving into human nature that was definitely The Dark Knight? Relax, comic book guy, they can both happily fall in the Top 10 films of the year at different ends of the entertainment spectrum.
Iron [...]
Re-enchantment with the World of Hellboy
November 16th, 2008
review of HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY
by Diana Taibi
starring Ron Perlman and Selma Blair
directed by Guillermo del Toro
Rated PG-13
“The movie’s in theme is… in favor of saying, the most mundane things, the most mundane concerns, are destroying beauty, and they’re destroying spirituality, and they’re destroying ideas, and they’re destroying magic… It’s a film about how [...]
The Payne is in the Watching
October 26th, 2008
review of MAX PAYNE
by Elliot Strong
starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis
directed by John Moore
Rated PG-13 for violence, language, disturbing images
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First off, let me get one item of business out of the way: I have never played the titular Max Payne video game. While the advertisements made it look cool (albeit highly derivative) in a [...]
The Knight is Darker, but Viewer will Endure
July 19th, 2008
If anyone still thought you could still say “comic book movie” and that the phrase implied a certain sensibility, style, or genre, The Dark Knight has driven the final nail into that cliche-coffin.